IBPS PO Exam 2026 – Overview, Salary, Dates, Qualification, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, FAQs
IBPS PO Exam 2026 – Overview, Salary, Dates, Qualification, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, FAQs
Table of Content
- IBPS PO 2026 Exam Summary
- IBPS PO 2026 Salary Structure: In-Hand Salary, Pay Scale, Allowances & Benefits
- List of Participating Banks in IBPS PO 2026 Recruitment
- IBPS PO 2026 Important Dates: Notification, Prelims, Mains & Interview Schedule
- IBPS PO 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit, Educational Qualification & Nationality
- IBPS PO 2026 Exam Pattern and Selection Process: Prelims, Mains, Marking Scheme & Negative Marking
- IBPS PO 2026 Syllabus: Section-Wise Topics for Prelims and Mains Exam
- IBPS PO 2026 FAQs: Salary, Attempt Limits, Number of Banks & Career Growth
IBPS PO is conducted every year to hire Probationary officers (PO) for the participating public sector banks. This exam gets conducted in 3 phases – Prelims, Mains and Interview.
Close to 0.5% of candidates who fill the form make it to the final list of the selected candidates of IBPS PO Exam. Once selected, IBPS POs undergo training to develop the necessary skills for handling their responsibilities efficiently.
To clear the IBPS PO exam in 2026, you must build strong conceptual clarity, practice previous years’ question papers, and take regular mock tests.
IBPS PO 2026 Exam Summary:
The IBPS PO 2026 notification is yet to be released. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) will hold the IBPS PO 2026 Exam to select Probationary Officers for 11 public sector banks in India. There will be 3 stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview. Since 2011, the IBPS PO test has been held annually, and the 16th edition will take place in 2026.
What is the full form of Bank PO: The full form of the Bank PO is probationary Officer in the banking sector.
IBPS PO 2026 - EXAM SUMMARY
| Organization | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
| Post Name | Probationary Officer |
| Vacancy | Yet to be released |
| Participating Banks | 11 |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Online Registration | Yest to be released |
| Exam Mode | Online |
| Recruitment Process | Prelims-Mains-Interview |
| Education Qualification | Graduate |
| Age Limit | 20 Years to 30 Years |
| Salary | Rs 76,000 in hand (after deductions) |
| Official website | www.ibps.in |
IBPS PO 2026 Salary Structure: In-Hand Salary, Pay Scale, Allowances & Benefits
The net take home salary of a fresh Bank PO is close to Rs 76,430 after all the deductions. The Various component of the salary are as follows:
| Basic Pay | Rs 48,480 |
| Special Allowances | Rs 12,847 |
| Dearness Allowances (DA) | Rs 10277 |
| City Compensatory Allowances (CCA) | Rs 2300 |
| Location Allowances | Rs 700 |
| Learning Allowances | Rs 850 |
| Learning Allowances DA | Rs 180 |
| HRA | Rs 4848 |
| Gross Salary | Rs 90,732 |
Deductions (Income Tax, Provident Fund, Professional tax, Pension etc) | Rs 14,302 |
| Net Salary | Rs 76,302 |
List of Participating Banks in IBPS PO 2026 Recruitment
The following public sector banks are participating for this year’s exam.
List of Participating banks for IBPS PO 2026
| Bank Of Maharashtra | Bank of Baroda | Bank of India |
| Canara Bank | Central Bank Of India | Indian Bank |
| Indian Overseas Bank | Punjab National Bank | Punjab & Sind Bank |
| UCO Bank | Union Bank Of India |
IBPS PO 2026 Important Dates: Notification, Prelims, Mains & Interview Schedule
The following dates are very important for IBPS PO 2026
| Events | Dates |
| IBPS PO 2026 Notification | Expected in August 2026 |
| Online Registration Process Begins | August - September 2026 |
| IBPS PO 2026 Prelims Exam Date | October 2026 |
| Mains Exam Date | November 2026 |
| Interview Process | January - February 2027 |
| Final Result Declaration | April 2027 |
IBPS PO 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit, Educational Qualification & Nationality
To apply for IBPS PO 2026, you must meet the following eligibility requirements set by IBPS.
Citizenship / Nationality – If you are applying for IBPS PO 2026, then you must be any of the following
(a) An Indian citizen
(b) Subject of Nepal and Bhutan
(c) A Tibetan Refugee who came to India before Jan, 1962
(d) Person of India (PIO) cardholder
IBPS PO 2026 Age Limit (as on 1st August, 2026)
To be able to apply for IBPS PO 2026, you must not be less than 20 years old and not more than 30 years old as on 1st August 2026.
Apart from this, there are certain age relaxations to various categories, based on government norms. Please go through the table to understand it
| Category | Age Relaxation |
| Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) | 5 years |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC Non-Creamy Layer) | 3 years |
| Persons with Disabilities (PWD) | 10 years |
| Ex-Servicemen (Army personnel) | 5 years |
| Widow / Divorced Women | 9 years |
| Persons with Domicile of Jammu & Kashmir during the period of 1-1-1980 to 31-12-1989 | 5 years |
| Regular Employees of Union Carbide Factory, Bhopal retrenched from service (for MP state Only) | 5 years |
IBPS PO 2026 Educational Qualification –
- Graduation Degree: You must hold a graduation degree (BA, BCom, BSc, BBA, BCA, BTech, MBBS etc) in any discipline from a university recognized by the government of India.
- If you still are in final year of graduation, you may apply but your final year result must be declared before the final formalities of IBPS PO 2026 exam.
- Computer Proficiency: You must have the basic computer proficiency as the IBPS PO 2026 is a CBT (Computer Based Test) and is conducted in online mode.
- Language Proficiency: Proficiency (Verbal & Written) in the official language of the state/UT is desirable as the bank PO is a customer facing role.
IBPS PO 2026 Exam Pattern & Selection Process: Prelims, Mains, Marking Scheme, and Negative Marking
IBPS conducts its Bank PO exam in 3 rounds – Prelims, Mains and Interview. The Prelims exam is qualifying in nature. The marks obtained by you in the Mains exam only will contribute to the final selection.
IPBS PO Prelims Exam Pattern:
IBPS PO 2026 Prelims will be conducted online and the total duration of the paper is 60 minutes with sectional time limit of 20 minutes for each section.
IBPS PO 2026 Exam Pattern : Prelims Exam
| Subjects | Questions | Marks | Duration |
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 Minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | 20 Minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 Minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 Minutes |
IBPS PO Prelims 2026 Marking Scheme -
For every right answer, you will get 1 mark. For every wrong answer, you will attract a penalty of negative 0.25 marks. You will not attract any negative marks for un-attempted questions.
Important Information Regarding the IBPS PO 2026 Prelims Exam –
• The IBPS PO 2026 prelims exam is a qualifying in nature.
• Candidates who pass this paper are qualified to take the mains test.
• The marks obtained in this paper are not taken into account in the final merit list.
• Candidates must meet both the sectional and total cutoff marks to pass the exam.
IBPS PO Mains 2026 Exam Pattern:
IBPS PO Mains is also held in online format. It has two papers – Paper 1 is objective in natures and contains 155 questions that you will have to solve in 180 minutes (3 hours). It has questions from the first 4 subjects that are mentioned in the table given below. Paper 2 is descriptive in nature (Essay and Letter Writing) that you will have to complete in 30 minutes.
IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern 2026
| S.No | Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| 1 | Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 45 | 60 | 60 Minutes |
| 2 | English Language | 35 | 40 | 40 Minutes |
| 3 | Data Analysis & Interpretation | 35 | 60 | 45 Minutes |
| 4 | General Economy & Banking Awareness | 40 | 40 | 35 Minutes |
| Total | 155 | 200 | 3 Hours | |
| 5 | English Language (Letter Writing & Essay) | 2 | 25 | 30 Minutes |
IBPS PO Mains 2026 Marking Scheme -
For every right answer, you will get 1 mark. For every wrong answer, you will attract a penalty of negative 0.25 marks. You will not attract any negative marks for un-attempted questions.
IBPS PO 2026 Interview round –
The third and final round of the IBPS PO selection process is the interview round. It carries a total of 100 marks. The candidates who qualify the IBPS PO mains round are invited for Face-to-Face interview round. A candidate must be aware of the following aspects of this round –
• The minimum marks required to clear this round is 40% (35% for candidates from SC/STOBC/PWD).
It typically lasts for 15 to 20 minutes for each candidate where the interview panelists grill candidates about general awareness, banking awareness apart from asking questions from the candidate’s personal life.
Calculation of the final score for IBPS PO 2026 Exam –
After the successful completion of all the three rounds, this is how the final score is calculated for IBPS PO exam.
• Marks achieved in the IBPS PO Prelims exam are not considered while calculating the final score. It is only to qualify for the mains exam.
• The final list is made on the basis of marks achieved in the mains and interview round. A candidate must qualify for the mains and interview rounds separately.
• The final merit list is based on a scaled score of 100 marks where 80% weightage is given to mains exam and 20% weightage is given to the interview round.
IBPS PO 2026 Syllabus: Section-Wise Topics for Prelims and Mains Exam
Since the IBPS does not publish an exhaustive list of topics in its notifications, it can only be accessed on the basis of the questions asked in the previous year papers.
Important Quantitative Aptitude Topics for IBPS PO Prelims & Mains 2026
| Arithmetic | Number System | Other topics |
| Percentage | Basics of Number System | Quadratic Equations |
| Profit and Loss | Properties of Numbers | Sequence and Series |
| Ratio and proportion | Decimals and Fractions | Data Interpretation |
| Partnership Problems | Surds and Indices | Permutation & Combination |
| Mixture and Alligation | Square roots and Cube roots | Probability |
| Averages | Simplification Problems | Mensuration - Sphere & Cylinder |
| Time and Work | Trailing Zeros Concept | Mensuration - Cone and Prism |
| Chain Rule Problems | The concept of last Digit | |
| Pipes and Cistern | The Remainder Theorem | |
| Time, Speed and Distance | Factors and Factorials | |
| Train problems | The Divisibility Rule | |
| Boat and Stream Problems | LCM and HCF | |
| Games and Races | ||
| SI & CI |
Important Reasoning Ability Topics for IBPS PO Prelims & Mains 2026
Reasoning Ability
| Arithmetical Reasoning | Syllogism |
| Direction Based Problems | Order and Ranking Problems |
| Coding and Decoding | Data Sufficiency |
| Series Completion | Cubes and Dices |
| Input and Output | Water & Mirror Image Problems |
| Tabulation Problems | Paper Cutting / Folding |
| Seating Arrangement | Statement - Argument Statement Assumption |
| Puzzle Test Problems | Assertion & Reason |
| Blood Relations | Series |
| Venn Diagram Problems | Analogy |
| Incomplete Pattern | Odd - Man Out |
Important English Language Topics for IBPS PO Prelims & Mains 2026
English Language
| Reading Comprehension | Fill in the Blanks |
| Cloze Test Problems | Paragraph Completion |
| Para Jumbles | Synonyms, Homonyms |
| Spotting the Error | Antonyms |
Frequently Asked Questions
Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection – Probationary Officer
Graduate in any stream and age between 20 to 30 years.
You may. But, when the final result of IBPS PO 2026 is announced, you must be a graduate.
Total monthly salary is close to 90,000 Rs and after all the deductions the in-hand salary is approx. 76000 Rs.
3 – Prelims, Mains and Interview.
Yes. The paper is conducted in English and Hindi both.
Yes. You may apply for IBPS PO 2026
Yes. In Prelims & Mains both. For every wrong answer, 25% marks allotted to a particular question gets deducted.
IBPS PO is qualifying in nature. The final merit list is prepared on the basis of marks achieved in mains and interview in.
Yes, the IBPS PO Prelims is a qualifying exam. Its marks are not counted in the final merit list, but candidates must clear the cutoff to qualify for the Mains exam.
The number of attempts varies by category:
• General: 4 attempts
• OBC: 7 attempts
• SC/ST: No limit
• General: 4 attempts
• OBC: 7 attempts
• SC/ST: No limit
No, IBPS does not mandate a bond, but individual banks may have their own service agreements.
No, candidates can apply from only one state and must select the exam centre accordingly.
An IBPS PO handles customer service, loan processing, account management, and overall banking operations. They also undergo training before taking up independent responsibilities.
